Challenger owners exhibit an infectious enthusiasm for their aircraft. With some 4,000 worldwide, that's a lot of enthusiasm! They are an interesting bunch from all walks of life, with flying backgrounds ranging from rank beginners who did their initial training in their Challenger to professional airline and military pilots with thousands of hours logged. In this section you'll meet some owners, see how they use their planes, and learn about their association and its events.

Bryan Quickmire wrote: "A benefit of being part of the Challenger community is that we meet lots of interesting people. Anyone who sees the point of flying in a Challenger is something of a kindred spirit and someone to be enjoyed."

"Some of these interesting people are not just interesting they are inspirational as well. This spring Alison and I were on the West Coast and traveled to Sooke on Vancouver Island to visit Andreas and Michele Ruttkiewicz." Click here to read the account of the visit and click here for an update to the story.

A picture is worth a thousand words so a video is worth a million! Click to the Challenger Cinema to see Challengers in the air and on land, water and snow!

There's also the Challenger Gallery with high-resolution images to download for desktop wallpaper and screensavers or to print and stick on your fridge!

And if that still isn't enough, head for our Hot Shots section for still more pics!

For the latest in photographs browse our Challenger Canada Photo Albums http://www.flickr.com/photos/challengercanada/sets/ Click Seven League Boots for a sample of Challenger flights over 1,000 miles!

The album has tons of photos organized into chapters on special events and topics, plus a huge catch-all of pics from round the world since 1983.

What does a 250 lb. 6'5" Challenger owner paint on the bottom of his fuselage? Anything he wants! Click on the picture to see what Bruce Craig painted!

In the summer of 1990 two owners, Jim George and Clint Hooper, founded the
International Challenger Owners Association. Their newsletter Challenger News was eagerly received each quarter. The ICOA grew to over 800 members globally before the print medium was superseded by the internet. Now there is an extensive suite of internet-based resources for Challenger owners, with web sites, social media and an email group with some 4,000 members!

The Canadian Chapter of the ICOA, is under the able leadership of Major (Ret.) Claude Roy of the Royal Canadian Air Force. This chapter is the most active worldwide. Major fly-in/drive-in events are held each year - the Challenger Winter Rendezvous, between Ottawa and Montreal, and in the summer the Challenger Canada Open House north of Toronto. As well, birds-of-a-feather flockings happen all across Canada.

The annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous is the venue for presentation of the Maurice Vinet Memorial Award and the Dave Allan Memorial Award.

The Maurice Vinet Memorial Award was founded in 2001 to honour the late Maurice Vinet who passed away from cancer in 2000. Maurice's company Puddlejumper Floats opened up new realms of pleasure for Challenger owners worldwide and is now run by his son Patrick Vinet. The Vinet Award is presented to a Challenger pilot who exemplifies Maurice's passion for flight.

The Dave Allan Memorial Award was founded in 2007 to be given each year to a person who has made a substantial contribution to inspire or empower the Challenger community. Dave Allan passed away from cancer in 2006. Dave was an extremely talented and knowledgeable Challenger builder and inspector. He gave freely of his time to owners across Canada who called for advice and he always welcomed visitors to his workshop.

The Challenger line of aircraft launched in 1983 and has enjoyed continuous improvements ever since. To illustrate the staying power of the marque, Challengers swept all Light Sport awards at Airventure Oshkosh in 2013!

Challenger Winter Rendezvous posters are created annually by Dave O'Malley of Aerographics Ottawa. Dave is also historian and webmaster at Vintage Wings.

CHALLENGER	2021-2022	EVENTS
POSTPONED TO 2023	DUE TO	COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
	2020
2nd Winter Fly-in Organized by COPA	January 24-26, 2020 Chateau Montebello	Full Details Online At flymontebello.com
POSTPONED TO 2023	DUE TO	COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
22nd Annual Float Tour Canadian Challengers	POSTPONED TO 2023 July 20 - 26, 2020	Airventure 2020 Oshkosh Click here for vignettes!
EAA Airventure Oshkosh Quad City in Booth 908	POSTPONED TO 2023 July 20 - 26, 2020 Oshkosh, Wisconsin	2018 was Challenger 35th! Challengers Take Awards
14th Annual Open House Challenger Canada	POSTPONED TO 2023 August 8, 2020 Edenvale, ON	32nd Gathering of Classics Click here for 2019 details!
21st Annual Fly-in Carleton Place	POSTPONED TO 2023 September 12, 2020 Carleton Place, ON	Record is 30 Challengers! Click for sample details!
13th Annual Western Challenger Rendezvous	POSTPONED TO 2023 Stay Tuned For Dates Courtenay, BC	Beautiful Vancouver Island! Click here for 2018 details!
	2019
1st Winter Fly-in Organized by COPA	January 25-27, 2019 Chateau Montebello	Click here for 2019 Official Announcement & Details!
EAA Airventure Oshkosh Quad City in Booth 908	July 22 - 28, 2019 Oshkosh, Wisconsin	2018 was Challenger 35th! Challengers Take Awards
13th Annual Open House Challenger Canada	August 10, 2019 Edenvale, ON	31st Gathering of Classics Click here for 2019 details!
21st Annual Float Tour Canadian Challengers	August 10 - 24, 2019	Quebec North Shore! Click here for vignettes!
20th Annual Fly-in Carleton Place	September 7, 2019 Carleton Place, ON	Record is 30 Challengers! Click for sample details!
	2018
28th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous	January 26-28, 2018 Chateau Montebello	35 Years of Challengers! Click here for 2018 details!
EAA Airventure Oshkosh Quad City in Booth 908	July 23 - 29, 2018 Oshkosh, Wisconsin	EAA Honours Challenger Challengers Take Awards
12th Annual Open House Challenger Canada	August 11, 2018 Edenvale, ON	30th Gathering of Classics Click here for 2018 details!
12th Annual Western Challenger Rendezvous	September 7-9, 2018 Courtenay, BC	Beautiful Vancouver Island! Click here for 2018 details!
19th Annual Fly-in Carleton Place	September 8, 2018 Carleton Place, ON	Record is 30 Challengers! Click for sample details!
20th Annual Float Tour Canadian Challengers	Sept. 8-22, 2018 Fly to the Factory!	35 Years of Challengers! Click here for 30th report!
Challenger 35th Factory Anniversary Celebration	Sept. 14-16, 2018 Celebrate at Factory!	35 Years of Challengers! Click here for 30th report!
	2017
27th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous	January 27-29, 2017 Chateau Montebello	100 skiplanes! 300 people! Click here for 2017 details!
EAA Airventure Oshkosh Quad City in Booth 908	July 24 - 30, 2017 Oshkosh, Wisconsin	EAA Honours Challenger Challengers Take Awards
11th Annual Open House Challenger Canada	August 13, 2017 Edenvale, ON	29th Gathering of Classics Click here for 2017 details!
11th Annual Western Challenger Rendezvous	September 8-10, 2017 Courtenay, BC	Beautiful Vancouver Island! Click here for 2017 details!
18th Annual Fly-in Carleton Place	September 9, 2017 Carleton Place, ON	Record is 30 Challengers! 2017 details coming soon!
19th Annual Float Tour Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal	Sep 16 - Oct 7, 2017 Return to Alabama	A leisurely 5,000 km jaunt! Click here for 2017 details!
	2016
26th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous	January 29-31, 2016 Chateau Montebello	100 skiplanes! 300 people! Click here for 2016 details!
10th Annual Western Challenger Rendezvous	July 8-10, 2016 Wetaskiwin, AB	Click here for past pictures! 2016 pictures coming soon!
EAA Airventure Oshkosh Quad City in Booth 908	July 25 - 31, 2016 Oshkosh, Wisconsin	EAA Honours Challenger Challengers Take Awards
10th Annual Open House Challenger Canada	August 6, 2016 Edenvale, ON	28th Gathering of Classics Click here for 2016 details!
18th Annual Float Tour Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal	August 6-20, 2016 Track QC/ON Border	North in QC, South in ON Click here for 2016 details!
17th Annual Fly-in Carleton Place	September 10, 2016 Carleton Place, ON	30 Challengers in 2010! 2016 coming! 2015 here!
	2015
25th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous	Jan 30 - Feb 1, 2015 Chateau Montebello	100 skiplanes! 200 people! Click here for 2015 details!
17th Annual Float Tour Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal	June 27 - July 19 Journey to Westebello	Put it on your calendar! Click here for 2015 details!
9th Annual Western Challenger Rendezvous	July 10-12, 2015 Wetaskiwin, AB	Click here for past pictures! Click here for 2015 details!
EAA Airventure Oshkosh Quad City in Booth 908	July 20 - 26, 2015 Oshkosh, Wisconsin	EAA Honours Challenger Challengers Take Awards
9th Annual Open House Challenger Canada	August 8, 2015 Edenvale, ON	27th Gathering of Classics Click here for 2015 details!
16th Annual Fly-in Carleton Place	September 12, 2015 Carleton Place, ON	30 Challengers in 2010! Click here for 2015 details!

25th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - January 30 - February 1, 2015 A QUARTER CENTURY OF WINTER FUN CHALLENGER WINTER-TACULAR! Click here for COPA Flight article and pictures! Click here for 2015 poster, theme and agenda!

24th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - Jan. 31 - Feb. 2, 2014 EXPANDING HORIZONS TOGETHER Challenger comes complete with its own community of owners and network of service providers! Click here, here, here and here for 2014 photos galore! Click here for 2014 COPA Flight article and pictures! Click here for 2014 poster, theme and agenda!
Click the poster on the left above for large English and French versions. Click the COPA cover on the right above for full article and pics.

Challenger 30th Anniversary Celebration Erie Airpark, Illinois - Sept. 20-22, 2013
Click here for feature!	Click here for 120 photos!	Click here for cover!

23rd Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - February 1-3, 2013 30 YEARS OF CHALLENGERS 1983 to 2013! Time flies and so do 4,000 Challengers! Click here for classic Return From Montebello video! Click here, here, here and here for 2013 photos galore! Click here for 2013 COPA Flight article and pictures! Click here for 2013 poster, theme and agenda!
Click the poster on the left above for large English and French versions. Click the COPA cover on the right above for full article and pics.

22nd Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - February 3-5, 2012 SNOW 'n FUN was FABULOUS! Sun & Wind Perfect! Ice & Snow Perfect! Over 90 Planes! Click here for Tomorrow is Today video! Click here for photos galore! Click here for COPA Flight article and pictures! Click here for 2012 theme and agenda!
Click the poster on the left above for large English and French versions. Click the COPA cover on the right above for full article and pics.

21st Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - February 4-6, 2011 WINTER FLYING - THEN & NOW Blue Sky / Warm Air / Light Wind Click here for Full Emotion video! Click here for More than a Feeling video! Click here for COPA Flight article and pictures! Click here for 2011 theme and agenda!
Click the poster on the left above for large English and French versions. Click the COPA cover on the right above for full article and pics.

20th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - January 22-24, 2010 Everything Purrfect! See COPA Flight - March 2010 - Cover & Feature! Click here for The Big Two Oh video! Click here for Full Action video! Click here for tons of photos! Click here for 2010 theme and agenda!
	The Big Two Oh! Click above and find the 49 Challengers!

19th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous Chateau Montebello - 30 Jan to 1 Feb 2009
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Ultralights in Canada!

Challenger 25th Anniversary Celebration Erie Airpark, Illinois - Sept. 19-21, 2008
Click here for Evolution!	Click here for Kitplanes!	Click here for Evolution!
Click here for Canuck view!	Click here for COPA article!	Click here for Canuck view!

18th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous - January 25 - 27, 2008
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Quad City and the Challenger!

17th Annual Challenger Winter Rendezvous - January 26 - 28, 2007
At the 11th hour it was up in the air - then it happened up in the air!

July 2-9, 2000 Owners voyaged to the Saguenay fjords and the CF-18s of Bagotville!

July 20 - August 1, 2000 The first Canadian ultralights crossed the U.S. border for Oshkosh!! Accolades were received from EAA, COPA, FAA and Transport Canada!

July 1999 Float Flying Adventure

Winter 1998 Montebello Meet Magnificent	Summer 1997 Jacksons' Iroquois Fly-in Rated 5 Star
Winter 1995 ICOA Sets Records For Ski Fly-ins	Summer 1996 Challengers Swarm To Haliburton

Did you see the movie "Fly Away Home", about the geese and the ultralight?
The Migratory Bird Research Group used a Challenger to teach Trumpeter Swans to migrate! These magnificent birds with wingspans up to 8 feet were eradicated from eastern North America a hundred years ago. The three year project to reintroduce a self-sustaining migratory flock concluded with an 800 mile migration from northern Ontario to southern Indiana. That's 800 miles in close formation at the swans' long range endurance speed - 40 mph!

On the migration the group's Challenger was used as chase plane. This role is much like that of a sheepdog - herding the swans behind the trike on takeoff, bookending the formation in flight and chasing after the swans when they decided to scoot. Sometimes the birds broke formation to check out something interesting on the ground below. Other times they were escaping something scary like a passing Cessna. When they did break they flew off at over 60 mph!

National Ultralight assigned Bryan Quickmire as liaison to the project. Bryan actually had the honour of flying the group's Challenger on the migration. Ask him sometime how he earned the nickname 'Rex'!

Click to the Trumpeter Swan Migration Project for more info and pictures!